Name: Munther Al-Mahya

Arrestee: Houthi group

Date of arrest: August 2016

The family of Munther Al-Muhaia did not believe that he was still alive, as the family had already entered a period of mourning for their son and received condolences like dozens of other families who hold such mourning ceremonies without receiving the bodies. Death in war spreads everywhere, and fortunate are those who receive the body of their loved one. Al-Muhaia family was not among the fortunate ones, which plunged the family into deep sorrow for their deceased son, as informed by the Houthis.

The Houthis had arrested Munther Al-Muhaia and taken him to the Saleh Detention Center. They then contacted his family and informed them of their son's death in the prison due to an airstrike. Based on this news, the family dealt with the common occurrence of news about death, killings, scattered remains, and missing bodies at the beginning of the war.

Munther was not dead. He was in the Saleh Detention Center, blindfolded with his hands and feet tied. They took him to the interrogation room, then suspended him from the ceiling with his head hanging down. A group of individuals took turns asking questions while punching him in the abdomen and beating him with electric cables on various parts of his body. Blood was flowing from his head and leg. One of them put a noose around Munther's neck until it swelled, and he was unable to swallow water thereafter.

After three days of physical torture, the psychological torture began. The prison authorities would take Munther outside the detention center, and the interrogator would order them to execute him and remove the body from the premises. He could hear them as they loaded their rifles and placed them against his swollen neck. He was in a state of panic, waiting for the moment the shot would be fired, but they wouldn't do it. Instead, they would place him on top of a car and drive him to a distant location. He would tell himself that they were going to execute him elsewhere. He would ask them, "Where are you taking me?" and they would order him to remain silent.

The interrogation questions and requests directed at Munther were absurd, as if they were searching for justifications to torture him further. They would ask him to contact a deceased person or to provide a detailed account of the phone numbers of individuals involved in popular resistance in his area, and so on.

The Houthis transferred Munther Al-Muhaia from the Saleh Detention Center in Taiz to the Community College Prison in Dhamar. After several months, somehow Munther managed to contact his family, and as soon as his brother heard his voice, he screamed in terror.

Brother: "It's impossible for you to be alive!"
Munther: "Why?"
Brother: "Because they informed us of your death..."

In their eyes, he was considered dead. Amidst the family's horror and shock at the return of the deceased, his mother tearfully and emotionally spoke to him, and he cried as well, overwhelmed by the situation.